China hosts Silk Road summit in shadow of North Korea missile

Yahoo – AFP, Yanan WANG, Laurent THOMET, May 14, 2017

China's President Xi Jinping speaks at the opening ceremony of the Belt and
Road Forum, in Beijing, on May 14, 2017 (AFP Photo/Greg Baker)

China touted on Sunday its new Silk Road as "a project of the century" at a summit highlighting its growing leadership on globalisation, but a North Korean missile test threatened to overshadow the event.

President Xi Jinping was preparing to host leaders from 29 nations for the two-day summit in Beijing when US and South Korean military officials confirmed that Pyongyang had launched a ballistic missile.

Delegations from North Korea and the United States were expected at the forum, though not their leaders. Few Western heads of government made the trip.

The summit is showcasing Xi's cherished One Belt, One Road initiative, a revival of the Silk Road that could cement China's growing global clout on trade and geopolitics.

"This is indeed a gathering of great minds," Xi said, addressing leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Xi pledged to pump an extra $124 billion in funds into the initiative, calling it "a project of the century" in a "world fraught with challenges".

Map showing China's ambitious plan to revive the ancient Silk 

Road trade routes (AFP Photo)

The Chinese-bankrolled project seeks to link the country with Africa, Asia and Europe through an enormous network of ports, railways, roads and industrial parks.

The initiative spans some 65 countries representing 60 percent of the world population and around a third of global gross domestic product. The China Development Bank has earmarked $890 billion for some 900 projects.

The project is seen as a practical solution to relieve China's industrial overcapacity. But it could also serve Beijing's geopolitical ambitions as Washington retreats into "America First" policies.

While Xi did not mention North Korea during his speech to the delegates, the Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement saying it opposes such missile tests.

It urged all parties to "exercise restraint and refrain from further aggravating the tension in the region".

North Korea relies heavily on trade with China for its economic survival, and US President Donald Trump has urged Xi to use that leverage to put pressure on Pyongyang.

The White House called on all nations to impose "far stronger sanctions" following the latest test, which came days after South Korea elected a new president.

Sunday's missile launch "is absolutely an embarrassment to Beijing but it also shouldn't be overstated", Christopher Balding, economics professor at Peking University, told AFP.

"This will not overshadow (the summit) in an enormous way but it will absolutely continue to raise US frustrations with Beijing," he said, adding that Washington was "frustrated" that North Korea was also invited to the summit.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) speaks with his Chinese counterpart Xi

 Jinping during a bilateral meeting at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, 

on May 14, 2017 (AFP Photo/WU HONG)

Respecting sovereignty

Xi focused on his initiative, boasting that it represented a "road for peace", but he cautioned "all countries should respect each others' sovereignty... and territorial integrity".

He warned that "isolation results in backwardness".

The new financing that he promised on Sunday includes 100 billion yuan ($14.5 billion) for the Silk Road Fund and lending schemes worth 380 billion yuan. He also urged financial institutions to contribute 100 billion yuan.

Praising Xi's initiative, Putin warned that "protectionism is becoming the norm".

"The ideas of openness, trade freedom are rejected more and more, very often by those who were their supporters not so long ago," Putin said.

For his part, Erdogan said Belt and Road was "going to be the kind of initiative that will put an end to terrorism".

India, whose Prime Minister narendra Modi is seen on May 12, 2017, has voiced 

displeasure at the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a Belt and Road project aimed 

at linking northwestern China to the Arabian Sea (AFP Photo/Ishara S. Kodikara)

Indian concerns

Some Belt and Road projects are raising concerns in certain countries.

India has voiced displeasure at the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a Belt and Road project aimed at linking northwestern China to the Arabian Sea.

The route cuts through Gilgit and Baltistan in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, disputed territory that India claims is illegally occupied.

Human Rights Watch raised fears on Saturday about the treatment of people along the new Silk Road route in Central Asian nations with poor track records in infrastructure projects.

The US-based organisation said Chinese authorities have "heightened surveillance and repression to prevent potential unrest that could impede" Belt and Road plans in the western Xinjiang region.

The train, carrying whisky, soft drinks, baby products and pharmaceuticals,
will take 18 days to make the 12,000-km (7,500-mile) journey

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"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013. They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader. Remember where you heard it... in a strange, esoteric meeting with a guy in a chair pretending to channel. [Kryon being factious... Kryon humor] Then when you hear it, you'll know better, won't you? "Maybe there was something really there," you'll say. "Maybe it was real," you'll say. Perhaps you can skip all the drama of the years to come and consider that now? [Kryon humor again]

These leaders are going to fall over. You'll have a slow developing leadership coming to you all over the earth where there is a new energy of caring about the public. "That's just too much to ask for in politics, Kryon." Watch for it. That's just the beginning of this last phase. So many things are coming. The next one is related to this, for a country in survival with sickness cannot sustain a leadership of high consciousness. There is just too much opportunity for power and greed. But when a continent is healed, everything changes. .."

".. Many years ago, the prevailing thought was that nobody should consider China as a viable player on the economic stage. They were backward, filled with a system that would never be westernized, and had no wish to become joined with the rest of the world's economic systems. Look what has happened in only 30 years. Now, look at Africa differently …”

Xi warns of globalisation backlash at BRICS summit

Yahoo – AFP, Bhuvan Bagga, October 16, 2016

(From left) Brazilian President Michel Temer, Chinese President Xi Jingping,
Indian PM Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and South African
President Jacob Zuma in Goa on October 15, 2016 (AFP Photo/Prakash Singh)

Benaulim (India) (AFP) - Chinese President Xi Jinping said Sunday a rising tide of protectionism and anti-globalisation was endangering the world economy's still fragile recovery as BRICS leaders vowed to forge closer business and trade ties.

At a summit in the Indian tourist hub of Goa, host Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leaders of China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa issued a joint declaration on a range of measures, including the setting-up of a new credit ratings agency and fighting tax evasion.

They also agreed to work together to combat "cross-border" terrorism, but Modi's guests held off from signing up to his fierce condemnation of India's arch-rival Pakistan as the "mothership of terrorism".

BRICS was formed in 2011 with the aim of using members' growing economic and political influence to challenge Western hegemony.

The nations, with a joint estimated GDP of $16 trillion, set up their own bank in parallel to the Washington-based International Monetary Fund and World Bank and hold summits rivalling the G7 forum.

But the countries, accounting for 53 percent of world population, have been hit by falling global demand and lower commodity prices, while several have also been mired in corruption scandals.

Russia and Brazil have fallen into recession recently, South Africa only just managed to avoid the same fate last month and China's economy has slowed sharply.

Both Xi and Modi said the group must stick together, insisting there was much to remain positive about even though its members have been beset by domestic woes and problems sparked by the 2008 financial crisis.

"At present the deep-seated impact of the international financial crisis is still unfolding. The global economy is still going through a treacherous recovery and deep adjustments," Xi said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir

Putin at the BRICS Summit in Goa on October 15, 2016 (AFP Photo)

The Chinese president said "deep-seated imbalances that triggered the financial crisis" were far from being resolved.

"Some countries are getting more inward-looking in their policies. Protectionism is rising and forces against globalisation are posing an emerging risk," he added.

While Xi did not single anyone out, Republican candidate Donald Trump has threatened to erect trade barriers to Chinese products if elected US president. Britain's vote to leave the European Union has been interpreted partly as a backlash against globalisation.

While China's economy has been running out of steam of late --although it is still the world's second largest -- India is now the fastest-growing major economy and its GDP is expected to increase 7.6 percent in 2016–17.

'Deeper bonds'

Modi said it was vital the BRICS nations increased cooperation by dismantling trade barriers and developing infrastructure.

"I think I speak for all when I say that through a common vision and collective action, we will create and sustain deeper bonds among BRICS nations, develop our economies and secure our societies," he said.

"While our achievements have been substantial, we need to sustain the positive direction and strong momentum of intra-BRICS engagement."

Xi said BRICS countries had much to be proud of and had contributed to more than 50 percent of global growth in the last decade.

"The past decade has seen BRICS partnership expanding with win-win results," he said.

"We need to deepen our partnership: we BRICS countries are good friends, brothers and partners that treat each other with sincerity."

Russian President Vladimir Putin meanwhile called for closer cooperation in areas such as e-commerce and space exploration. Modi confirmed that the leaders had agreed to fast-track setting up a new ratings agency amid accusations from within the bloc that the three traditional agencies -- Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings -- are all Western-based.

"We look forward to translating into reality the idea of a BRICS Credit Rating Agency," he said, without giving details of the much-trailed agency or timeline for its establishment.

Modi, who is pushing to isolate Pakistan following a surge in tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours, urged his peers to take a strong united stand against the "mothership of terrorism" in the South Asian region, in a thinly veiled reference to Pakistan.

But with China reluctant to embarrass its traditional allies in Islamabad, a joint statement at the end of the summit only referred to a vague goal of combating "cross-border terrorism and its supporters".

India's Narendra Modi shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin 

ahead of the Indo-Russia Annual Summit at Taj Exotica Hotel in Goa on 

October 15, 2016 (AFP Photo/Prakash Singh)

Related Article:

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Canada to apply to join China-backed infrastructure bank

Yahoo – AFP, Fran Wang, August 31, 2016

Canada's Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced Ottawa's decision to join  the
China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) (AFP Photo/Chris Wattie)

Beijing (AFP) - Canada will apply to join the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Ottawa's finance department said Wednesday, in a coup for Beijing after Washington had tried to dissuade US allies from signing up.

"Canada is always looking for ways to create hope and opportunity for our middle class as well as for people around the world," Finance Minister Bill Morneau said in a statement issued in Beijing.

"Membership in the AIIB is an opportunity to do just that."

Jin Liqun, the first president of the 

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank 

(AIIB) welcomed Canada's decision join

 the China-backed multilateral lender

(AFP Photo/Fred Dufour)

The Beijing-headquartered multilateral lender, which began operations earlier this year, has been seen by some as a rival to the World Bank and the Philippines-based Asian Development Bank, which was founded in 1966.

The $100 billion AIIB counts several major European countries among its shareholders after they joined up despite the objections of the United States, which remains by far the world's largest economy and hosts both the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Critics feared the new bank would set much lower standards for projects and undermine principles of social, environmental and economic sustainability adhered to by the World Bank and other multilateral development finance institutions.

AIIB president Jin Liqun welcomed Canada's decision, which he called "a vote of confidence" in the institution that showed Ottawa's "confidence in the strong foundations the bank has built in our first few months".

The US and Japan -- the world's third-largest economy -- have notably declined to join the AIIB.

But Jin said that Washington now had a "very positive" opinion on the bank".

China "does not regard itself as the big boss" in the lender, he added, and its shareholding would "definitely be diluted" as more members joined, which could ultimately lead to Beijing losing the de facto veto power it holds over some of its decisions.

'Best interest'

In a speech Morneau suggested Canada was seeking to strike a balance between its close ally and neighbour the US, and the growing Asian giant.

China is Canada's second-largest trading partner after the United States, with exchanges topping Can$85 billion ($66.5 billion) last year.

"We have important relationships with the world's most powerful nations and have developed a capacity for mutual accommodation and governance," Morneau said.

"Should we become the first North American member of the AIIB, I have every confidence that we bring constructive and balanced views to the table."

The Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has been seen 

by some as a rival to the World Bank and the Philippines-based Asian Development 

Bank (AFP Photo/Fred Dufour)

Joining the China-backed lender would create jobs and business opportunities for Canadians, he said, adding: "Participation in the bank is clearly in Canada's best interest."

Canada's announcement came during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit to China, where he met Prime Minister Li Keqiang to try to strengthen ties before the G20 summit this weekend in Hangzhou.

The relationship has been strained recently by Chinese plans to impose new rules on canola imports, which could risk Can$2 billion a year of Canadian oilseed sales to the Asian giant.

They were due to come into force on Thursday, but Premier Li said Wednesday that the existing rules would continue to apply while the two countries negotiate a long-term agreement.

In June China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi berated a Canadian journalist while visiting Ottawa for questioning Beijing's human rights record, saying her question was "full of prejudice and arrogance" and that she had "no right to speak".

The incident provoked a public outcry and led Canada to lodge a formal complaint with Beijing.

The 2014 detention on espionage charges of Canadian citizen Kevin Garratt, who had run a Christian-themed coffee shop near the North Korean border, has also raised tensions.

At the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday, Trudeau said he had "highlighted" Garratt's case in meetings with Chinese leaders but stressed that the goal of the visit was to establish a "strong, stable relationship and ongoing dialogue" with China.

Premier Li said judicial authorities would handle Garratt's case "in strict accordance with the law" and that his right to consular visits would be upheld.

He added it was essential for the two countries to "remove disturbances" and focus on the "overall interest" of Sino-Canadian relations.

German frustration builds over TTIP secrecy from US

German parliamentarians are demanding access to documents that contain the US position on transatlantic trade negotiations. TTIP supporters in the US argue that Washington shouldn't lay all of its cards on the table.

Deutsche Welle, 31 Oct 2015

In Germany, the documents are only available in the US embassy in Berlin. Known as "consolidated texts," they can contain the positions of both Brussels and Washington on key aspects of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Access to the embassy reading room has been limited to 139 German government officials cleared by the Ministry for Economic Affairs. National parliamentarians do not have access under the current process, according to the US embassy's German-language website.

The German parliament is chafing under the restrictions. Even Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Christian Democrats, who support strong trans-Atlantic relations and generally favor a trade agreement with the US, have grown critical. Norbert Lammert, president of the Bundestag, warned this week that parliament would not approve an agreement if it wasn't given greater oversight during the negotiations.

"I see no chance that the Bundestag would ratify a trade agreement between the EU and the USA without involvement in how it came together or any say regarding alternatives," Lammert said.

According to Daniel Hamilton, the executive director of the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University, Washington is concerned that providing greater access to the draft documents will result in leaks that could undermine the negotiations before a text is finalized.

"The real answer here is that in the end TTIP will be a mixed agreement in EU jargon, which means all member-state parliaments plus the European parliament will have to approve it," Hamilton told DW.

"So 29 different parliaments will have to approve this," he said. "They will have full access to everything obviously once they get that far, but they're not that far."

'Disenchantment with the EU'

The US position has softened somewhat. Until May, the consolidated texts weren't available in the EU member states at all. There was a reading room at the US mission in Brussels where cleared officials could view the draft documents.

Under pressure from the member states, Brussels negotiated with Washington to make the documents more accessible. The two sides agreed to set up reading rooms in US embassies throughout the EU. The current arrangement is based on the practice in Washington, where select officials are given clearance to read draft trade documents in secured rooms.

"There's been a lot more transparency than we've had in the past," Joseph Quinlan, an expert on trans-Atlantic economic relations and chief market strategist at US Trust, told DW. "You can't show the world your cards and not expect the people you're negotiating with across the table not to know what your cards are. There's a fine line there."

Many believe the process is still too opaque. According to the daily Tagesspiegel, those officials who have been cleared can only access the reading room two at time, twice a week, for two hours each session. And they can only use a pencil, pen and paper to take limited notes, the daily says.

Some organizations have taken matters into their own hands. Wikileaks has offered a 100,000-euro ($110,090) reward for TTIP documents. There have been repeated Internet leaks to the investigative journalism platform Correctiv.org, based in Germany.

Wikileaks also wants access
to the documents

In response, the European Commission temporarily allowed access only to the Brussels reading room over the summer, refusing to forward the consolidated texts to the national capitals. German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel - a cautious supporter of TTIP - criticized the move, calling it a "very regrettable step backward."

"There's disenchantment with the EU and the Commission broadly across Europe, and TTIP becomes an area in which they vent those frustrations," Hamilton said.

Strong German opposition

Limiting access to the consolidated texts may be fueling the anti-TTIP fire. In October, more than 150,000 people protested against the proposed trade agreement in Berlin, the largest demonstrations in Germany since the run-up to the Iraq war in 2003. According to a 2014 Eurobarometer poll, 39 percent of Germans support TTIP while 41 percent are against.

"There's a general sense in Germany that German standards are world class and that American standards simply aren't and that it's all about the American Übermacht coming over and steam rolling the European way of life," Hamilton said. "Without much substance behind that, it's kind of a gut feeling."

The opposition is more pronounced in Germany. In the other major EU states, clear public majorities support the trade deal - 65 percent in the UK, 50 percent in France, 58 percent in Italy, and 73 percent in Poland. But as the EU's largest economy and most populous country, the success or failure of TTIP will likely be decided in Germany.

"I don't think the [German] government nor the members of parliament who are pro TTIP have been very well organized," Hamilton said. "They have not tried to articulate the case why you want TTIP. The business community has been passive."

"Those criticizing have been well organized," Hamilton said. "They have a pan-European organizational structure and they are active. They have simply taken the initiative away from the proponents."

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Yudhoyono to Joko: Don’t Force Indonesia to Enter TPP

Yudhoyono, whose foreign policy mantra was 'A thousand friends, zero enemies,'

has cautioned Joko to look at the geopolitical consequences of signing up to the

 TPP, which conspicuously leaves out China but includes US ally Japan.

(Antara Photo/Prasetyo Utomo)

.

Indonesia Wants to Use Yuan for Trades in Asean

Jakarta Globe, 2 August 2015

Jakarta. Indonesia is proposing the use of China's yuan for trade and investment purposes in Asean‎ countries in a bid to counter further impacts from the stronger US dollar against currencies in the region, a minister said on Tuesday.

The 10 members of the Asean region, including Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, mostly use US dollars for international trade. But a strengthening greenback has made imports and servicing debt more expensive, pushing some to consider turning to the yuan.

"We want to push [the use of the yuan] when Indonesia trades with China in particular," Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said at the House of Representatives. "Bank Indonesia is preparing the mechanism so it will be attractive for traders."

Trade Minister Thomas Lembong also brought up the issue on Monday after a meeting with the president.

He said Indonesia should push harder for broader use of the Chinese currency in the region because Asean economies were "much more in tune" with China.

The rupiah traded at an average of 14,700 per US dollar on Monday morning, its weakest point since 1998, according to the counter price at state-owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia. It has lost about 13 percent of its value against the dollar this year.

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"The U in Kundalini"- Oct 18, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Kundalini, Unification, EU, Nobel Peace Prize 2012, Middle East, South America, Only 5 Currencies on Earth, Old Souls, Duality will dismiss, 3D Humanity will melt with Multi dimensional higher self, Global Unity… etc.)

China emerges as potential savior for Greece

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-07-06

Premier Li Keqiang speaks at the 17th China-EU Summit in Brussels,
June 29, 2015. (Photo/Xinhua)

China has emerged as a possible savior for Greece after voters rejected an international bailout offer in Sunday's referendum, says the US-based Foreign Policy magazine.

Greece has become the first developed country in history to default on a loan from the International Monetary Fund after failing to make its US$1.73 billion repayment last week. The 61% "no" vote in the referendum has only added to the uncertainty over whether Greece will leave the eurozone.

Eyes have now turned to China, with its US$4 trillion in hard currency reserves and US$21 trillion in savings, to potentially pay off Greece's debt. Foreign Policy notes that China loaned some US$22 billion to Latin America last year, more than the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank combined.

There are many reasons why China might want to intervene to save Greece, the Foreign Policy piece said. Europe is China's largest trading partner, with overall economic interaction between the two sides reportedly totaling as much as €46 billion (US$51 billion). Coupled with a slowing Chinese economy and instability in stock markets, Beijing has plenty of incentives to bail out Athens.

Additionally, China is said to have expressed interest in having Greece serve as the Western terminus of its ambitious "Belt and Road" initiative to boost connectivity and cooperation among countries throughout Eurasia. Part of the initiative will likely be funded by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), of which Greece is not a member but a dozen or so other European nations are.

Another reason for Chinese intervention is the largest Greek port of Pireaus, for which the countries signed a US$5 billion cooperation deal last year. Athens has put the port up for sale and Chinese logistics company Cosco, which currently manages two container piers at Pireaus, is interested in acquiring a majority stake. The port was a key staging area for the Chinese evacuation of more than 30,000 of its citizens from Libya in 2011.

China has also exhibited a willingness to lend money to countries with poor ratings, the report said, noting that the country has loaned more than US$25 billion to economically or politically unstable nations like Venezuela, Argentina and Russia.

There remain substantial financial risks Beijing in underwriting a bailout for Greece, though the potential political gains could also be substantial, Foreign Policy said. If China manages to save Greece and maintain a stable eurozone, EU countries may be more willing to relax sanctions against China, especially export controls on technology or arms, or boost China's influence in Europe.

China's Laohucaijin.com suggests that Greece could conceivably receive a bailout from the AIIB, which is close to officially commencing operation, as opposed to the IMF. At the 17th China-EU Summit in Brussels last month, Premier Li Keqiang expressed a desire for Greece to remain in the eurozone, though it remains to be seen whether China would ultimately be willing to take the chance.

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Crying Greek pensioner: the story behind the poignant photo

Greek pensioner, Giorgos Chatzifotiadis, cries as he sits on the ground

outside a national bank branch in Thessaloniki on July 3, 2015 (AFP

Photo/Sakis Mitrolidis)

Beijing to earmark RMB500bn for Belt and Road aviation projects

Want Chine Times, Staff Reporter 2015-06-30

Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport in Gansu province. (Photo/Xinhua)

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) will earmark up to 500 billion yuan (US$80 billion) for 193 large and medium aviation development projects by the end of this year to improve air connectivity with economies covered by the government's "Belt and Road" initiatives, Guangzhou's 21st Century Business Herald reports, citing CAAC director Li Jiaxiang.

At the opening session of the China Civil Aviation Development Forum held June 24-25 in Beijing, Li said that in addition to enhancing the development of international aviation hubs in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, the government will move to build regional air hubs in Xi'an, Urumqi, Nanning, Kunming and Xiamen in line with the Belt and Road plans. There are now a total of 15 new airports under construction or set to be built in provinces or regions along the New Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, in addition to another 28 airports under expansion, Li added.

The 500 billion yuan civil aviation investment for 2015 represents a drastic increase over the corresponding figures of 68.77 billion yuan (US$11.06 billion) in 2011, 146.46 billion yuan (US$23.57 billion) in 2012, and 145.22 billion yuan (US$23.37 billion) in 2013, due mainly to a total budget of 200 billion yuan (US$32.19 billion) to support 51 strategic investment projects directly serving the Belt and Road initiatives, including airports, airlines and air traffic control facilities, according to CAAC statistics.

Although Li didn't reveal details of how the huge investment fund will be used, the paper said that construction of new airports and the expansion of existing airports will account for the lion's share of the investment fund. This year, the National Development and Reform Commission has approved a budget of 80 billion yuan (US$12.87 billion) for a new airport in Beijing, Beijing Daxing International Airport, and another 69.2 billion yuan (US$9.52 billion) for a new international airport in Chengdu in Sichuan province. These two projects will account for 30% of the 500 billion yuan budget.

In addition, airports in Guangzhou, Chongqing, Haikou, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Changsha and Qingdao are undertaking expansion projects each costing billions of yuan, mainly for the construction of new runways or new terminal buildings, the paper said.

Construction of new minor regional airports is also underway, including in Shache and Ruoqiang in Xinjiang autonomous region, Wudalianchi in Helongjiang province, Ulanqab in Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Longnan in Gansu province, Renhuai in Guizhou province, Lancang in Yunnan province, and Guoluo in Qinghai province, estimated to cost over 10 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion) in total.

Besides fueling investment in aviation infrastructure projects, the Belt and Road initiatives will also expand business opportunities for the aviation industry, according to Li. He said that China now boasts the world's second-largest air transportation system, as it has 52 airlines, 202 airports and 533 international flight routes linking 48 cities in China, laying a solid foundation for the country's aviation industry to further internationalize.

CAAC statistics indicated that China's international airline firms launched 131 new international routes in 2014 and plan to add 83 more this summer and autumn. On another front, countries along the Belt and Road initiatives will open 24 new flight routes to China this year, with four countries to operate flights to China for the first time ever.

Li Keqiang gives a press conference at the EU-China Summit in

Brussels, June 30. (Photo/CNS)

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Framework for China-led international bank signed

Yahoo – AFP, Benjamin Haas, 29 June 2015

Supporters of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank say fears over

 undue Chinese influence are overblown, and that the participation by more 

than 50 countries will dilute Beijing's power (AFP Photo/Wang Zhao)

Beijing (AFP) - Countries from five continents formally signed up Monday to the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank -- a potential rival to the Washington-based World Bank -- as Beijing steps up its global diplomatic and economic role.

Australia was the first country to sign the articles of association creating the AIIB's legal framework at a ceremony in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, an AFP journalist saw, followed by 49 other founding members.

Seven more are expected to do so by the end of the year.

The bank will have a share capital of $100 billion, with $20 billion paid in initially, the document showed.

The signing "is an embodiment of the concrete action and efforts made by all countries in the spirit of solidarity, openness, inclusion and cooperation", Chinese President Xi Jinping said after the ceremony.

Supporters of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank say fears over

 undue Chinese influence are overblown, and that the participation by more

than 50 countries will dilute Beijing's power (AFP Photo/Wang Zhao)

Signalling China's central role at the bank, he added: "Now we are willing to listen to your views and proposals."

The AIIB has been viewed by some as a rival to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, and the United States and Japan -- the world's largest and third-largest economies, respectively -- have notably declined to join.

Earlier this month, former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke rebuked US lawmakers for effectively encouraging the AIIB's formation by blocking reforms giving developing nations a greater say in the IMF.

Beijing will be by far the largest AIIB shareholder at about 30 percent, the articles of association posted on the website of China's finance ministry showed. India is the second biggest at 8.4 percent with Russia third on 6.5 percent.

The voting structure gives smaller members a slightly disproportionately larger voice, and a statement accompanying the articles said China will have 26 percent of the votes.

That is not enough to give Beijing a formal veto over all the bank's decision-making, but it will still have an outsized say and a block on some votes which require a 75 percent majority -- including the choice of the bank's president, suspensions of members, and changes to the rules.

"China's shareholding and its voting power at the establishment of the AIIB is a natural result led by the rules decided by all members," said Shi Yaobin, a vice finance minister, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

"China is not deliberately pursuing the veto power," he added, saying share percentages could be diluted by future new admissions.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) speaks to Swiss Economy Minister Johann

 Schneider-Ammann (L) as he meets with the delegates attending the signing

 ceremony for the Articles of Agreement of the AIIB in Beijing on June 29, 2015

 (AFP Photo/Wang Zhao)

Among non-Asian participants, Germany is the largest shareholder with 4.5 percent, followed by France with 3.4 percent and Brazil on 3.2 percent.

The AIIB is expected to go into operation later this year and its headquarters will be in Beijing, despite calls from Indonesia that it be based in Jakarta, further cementing China's prominence in the institution.

But all financial terms in the agreement are in US dollars, rather than China's currency, the renminbi, and the bank's working language will be English.

Transparency concerns

Only 50 of the 57 countries that have applied for founding membership signed up in Beijing on Monday, and the finance ministry said the remainder -- Denmark, Kuwait, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, South Africa and Thailand -- have yet to ratify the necessary agreements.

Washington sought to dissuade its allies from taking part but European countries including Britain, France and Germany have rushed to sign up as they seek to bolster ties with the world's second-largest economy.

There are some concerns over transparency of the lender, which will fund infrastructure in Asia, as well as worries that a resurgent Beijing will use it to push its own geopolitical and economic interests.

The articles of association promise the bank will "be guided by sound banking principles in its operations" and ensure its operations comply with "policies addressing environmental and social impacts".

Russia's Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak leaves after signing an article

 of association to help set up the AIIB during a ceremony at the Great Hall of the

 People in Beijing on June 29, 2015 (AFP Photo/Wang Zhao)

But equally vague statements in the past have done little to soothe critics.

Supporters say fears over undue Chinese influence are overblown, and that the participation by more than 50 countries will dilute Beijing's power.

The articles of association specify that the bank's president must come from the Asian region and will serve a maximum of two consecutive five-year terms.

Shi, a vice finance minister, said that China will "recommend a strong and powerful candidate" for the position, Xinhua reported.

In Tokyo, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said: "We hope the AIIB will play a role as a financial institution that contributes to Asia's development while meeting standards of international institutions, including for its governance.

"We'd like to watch it closely, including its actual operations."

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